China says 5,286 people have died in fires, floods and other disasters in Chinese mines during the first 11 months of this year.

The State Administration of Work Safety said the death rate in Chinese mines is 100 times that of American mines. But Beijing said the number of deaths reported this year is eight percent below the figure for the same period last year.

China says it accounted for 80 percent of all coal mining deaths worldwide last year. The new report comes as rescuers continue to try and reach 36 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in southwestern China's Guizhou province. China has struggled for years to regulate mines and improve safety records.